When your glaucoma treatment, a medical approach to prevent vision loss from increased eye pressure. Also known as pressure-lowering therapy, it’s not just about drops—it’s about protecting your sight before damage becomes permanent. Glaucoma doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t blur your vision right away. That’s why it sneaks up on people. By the time you notice trouble, up to 40% of your vision could already be gone. The goal of treatment isn’t to cure it—it’s to stop it from getting worse. And that means lowering intraocular pressure, the fluid pressure inside the eye that damages the optic nerve in glaucoma before it does irreversible harm.
Most people start with eye drops. These aren’t your average lubricants. They’re powerful medicines that either reduce how much fluid your eye makes or help it drain better. Prostaglandin analogs, a first-line class of glaucoma medications that improve fluid outflow like latanoprost are often the first choice because they work once a day and have fewer side effects than older options. Beta-blockers like timolol cut fluid production but can cause fatigue or breathing issues in some people. Then there are alpha agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and cholinergic agents—each with their own trade-offs in cost, frequency, and side effects. If drops don’t cut it, laser treatments like SLT (selective laser trabeculoplasty) can help open drainage channels without surgery. And if all else fails, minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS) offer safer alternatives to traditional filtering procedures.
What works for one person might not work for another. Your eye pressure numbers, your other health conditions, your budget, and even how well you remember to use your drops all matter. Some people need two or three different drops just to keep pressure in check. Others respond well to a single medication. The key is tracking—not just your pressure, but how your vision feels day to day. Regular check-ups with your eye doctor aren’t optional. They’re your best defense against slow, silent vision loss.
Below, you’ll find real comparisons of glaucoma medications, what they actually do to your eye pressure, how they stack up against each other in cost and side effects, and which ones doctors recommend when the first option doesn’t work. No fluff. No guesswork. Just what you need to know to make smarter choices about your eyesight.
Betaxolol eye drops lower intraocular pressure to slow glaucoma progression. Learn how it works, who it's best for, side effects, and how to use it correctly for maximum benefit.